By My Side
by MimiBlue
Summary: With the 57th expedition beyond the walls utterly failing, Eren will be taken into the Military Police for extensive testing, and most likely death. Mikasa is infuriated, of course and vows to go after him and bring him back home, if it's the last thing she does. Eren/Mikasa and hints of Levi/Mikasa


Hey everybody! I'm back from another super long hiatus. (I have a lot of these, don't I? ;;-;;) This time, it's a hopefully full length story. I have a lot of plans for this story, but hopefully I'll have enough time to sit down and finish it xD.

The beginning takes place on the episode (i forget the number) when Eren, Mikasa, and the rest, are coming back from the failed 57th expedition outside the walls, when Petra and everybody died :( And, Eren was scheduled to get arrested from the MP. etc. etc. The rest is just my own mind thinking of fluffy fluff stories.

It's mostly ErenXMikasa, with LeviXMikasa hinted and mixed in.

And sorry again for never posting stories, I just started FUCKING** HIGH SCHOOL** (FML) DBKSBFKBABF:DJFKB:B:G:G and I'm practically dying ;;-;;. (stupid AP classes...)ugh. Plus I've been drawing a lot. Too much actually.

And a HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to my amazing beta readers- LucyDragneel-FullbusterYu, Melodious Authoress, Niriiun, Crescent-Ri, and my awesome friend Alexandra for telling me what she thinks! (She doesn't have an account here that I know of lol)

But, hopefully I'll get a chance to continue more of this series, depending on your guys opinions. (unlike my gosick one, I feel bad about leaving that one hanging...)

But, anyways, enjoy! Please R&R~ -MimiBlue :)

* * *

**By My Side**

Chapter 1: The Devotion of a Fool

The quiet rattling of the cart brought a terrible sense of foreboding to her. Her ivory black hair whipped around her cheeks in the harsh wind, bringing her slight discomfort.

The said female glanced down at the unconscious teenager laying there besides her, a glimmer of worry in her dark orbs. His startling green eyes were closed shut, unseen to her, and his soft copper hair exquisitely fell onto his forehead. He looked so peaceful, so untouched… No trace of hostility on his face whatsoever.

What would happen when those eyes would open?

Would he succumb to this vile world that they lived in?

Or would he rise up, a daring contender, and fight?

She didn't know. But, she would remain here by his side -though not always present-constantly supporting him. That's how she had lived her life before, and it wasn't going to change now.

She didn't want him to open his eyes.

Then he would know. And leave her.

And those emerald eyes would turn disconsolate and empty.

He would remember.

She leaned forward suddenly and wrapped her fingers around his own. His rough, chapped, fingers brought her immense comfort. She smiled, remembering.

* * *

_"Oy! Come back here!"_

_ The laughing, regaled, young boy chased the small girl. She turned her head beguilingly over her shoulder and winked sweetly, her eyes twinkling with joy._

_He unconsciously foun__d himself blushing._

_Later, after their game of tag, they lay in the grass together happily, content. Her enticing black hair was sprawled out on the grass beneath her, mixing with his darker brown. _

_She smiled at him, picking up a piece of his hair in her small fingers, turning it over in her hand. She chided him playfully about the length of it, frowning and playfully complaining it was too long. _

_He scowled and grumbled in annoyance, mumbling something about how she sounded just like his mother. Upon hearing this, she frowned and took his hand in protest. He had calmed down, and smiled at her in response._

_That beautiful smile._

* * *

She inhaled deeply.

_No. That was back then. It's different now. _

He was going to leave her soon. Thanks to the Military Police she hated. She frowned, thinking about what Levi had told her earlier.

* * *

_Earlier- _

_The whole team walked back, an evident sadness portrayed on every person's face. They had failed their mission. All was lost. Levi surveyed his team, feeling disgusted. He hated this. He didn't want to face the truth of their defeat. Yet showing any trace of emotion would discourage his troops even more than they already were now. _

_He caught eye of _her_ walking back to the cabin, carefully lugging an unconscious Eren in tow. What was her name again? _

_Mikasa Ackerman. Eren's wanna be girlfriend. Or something like that. _

_He rolled his eyes watching her gently lay him down on the wagon bed, with utmost care. She was never that delicate with anything else. He opened his mouth, about to make some witty comment, when he remembered. The Military Police's command. _

_Shit._

_They hated Eren. They thought the idea of a titan living among the humans preposterous. He and Erwin had just barely managed to resist their wrath against Eren by convincing them that Eren could help on their expedition. Well, that ended up being a giant failure. Eren had practically destroyed their mission._

_Of course it wasn't exactly Eren's fault, but what's done is done. _

_So now, as part of their agreement, Eren was going to be arrested by the Military Police for 'extensive testing'; whatever the hell that meant._

_Shit. _

_He had to tell her. But, he knew she would get irrationally upset and go on a rampage somewhere, threatening to destroy the MP if it was the last thing she did. She practically lived for Eren. _

_Yet, he still had to tell her. It somehow felt wrong not to. If not her, someone else. But somehow, it felt wrong telling anyone else but her. Levi closed his eyes and frowned in annoyance, crossing his arms._

_"Damn it..." He muttered to himself, and without a second thought, tore his eyes open and stomped over to Mikasa. _

_"You." He barked, recrossing his arms. She was tidying up Eren, wiping his muddy face with a washcloth, tenderness in her every move. _

_Levi resisted his urge to vomit. She slowly looked up, an almost soft look in her eyes, which was quickly replaced with a stern glare once she recognized him. She still hated him after he had beat Eren up during that trial. Though, the small fact she kept forgetting is that if he hadn't have beaten Eren up then, the titan-shifter would have been killed. Though it was unlikely of her to remember anything of actual significance like that. _

_Levi rolled his eyes. _

_"I need to talk to you." He said. She glared at him, and cast a quick glance at Eren, checking if he was alright. _

_She was silent for a few more moments, then spoke. "Fine." He gave a quick, curt nod and walked a few feet away from the wagon, waiting for her to follow.  
_

_Not waiting for her to say anything first, he spun around to face her. She regarded him coldly, almost mimicking him by crossing her arms. "So? What is it,_ heichou_?" She spat, the last word full of venom. _

_He exhaled. "Listen. I'm trusting you right now with a very important piece of information. I assume you're trustworthy enough not to tell anyone else?" He noticed he had captured her attention... somewhat. She had uncrossed her arms and her eyes seemed less ... angry. She gave a quick nod. _

_"Eren..." She immediately perked up at the sound of his name. "Eren, he... he's going to be taken in. By the military police." _

_She was quiet for a brief second, before the questions came pouring in- "Why? What are they going to do to him? How can I stop it? I'm gonna kick their asses." _

_"Calm down." He replied, his voice low and rough. She stopped and an uneasy silence filled the air. "It was a deal I made with the Military Police Commanders. I promised that if Eren could significantly help us during our mission, the Military would let him stay with us. Obviously, he didn't help. At all." _

_"But-" Levi continued, "So, as compensation for our failure, Eren is to be arrested by the Police for testing. There's nothing we can do to stop it, so I suggest you don't try." _

_He glanced at her, which he immediately regretted. She looked empty, like all the life was being sucked out of her. She looked dead. Her legs began to shake and she opened her mouth slowly. _

_Her voice was quiet and oddly calm, like in a trance. "I... I need to tell him. To warn him. We're going to escape. I'll protect him. Yes, i'll-" _

_"No." Levi spoke once more. "You can't. I am trusting you not to tell anyone. If you do, he will be in even more danger than he is now. Besides, if you were to escape, where would you even go? In case you haven't noticed, we're surrounded by giant walls." Another shaky silence.  
_

_"Trust me, Erwin and I are trying to work it out." _

_This was a lie. He just needed to say something to shut her up and calm her down. Of course, he was sad about Eren, in fact, he had actually grown quite fond of the stupid little brat, but, a deal was a deal. Levi wasn't so juvenile as to back out on this and risk losing everything he had worked so hard to gain over a silly personal reason like this. It was out of his character. _

_But, that didn't stop him from still feeling **some** emotion, something that was rare for the corporal. What could he say? He had grown accustomed to the Yeager boy. Yet, Mikasa's level of attachment was unreasonable. _

_"Don't say anything to anyone." He continued on. "Understood__?"_

_As he observed her, he had to admit, he actually felt some guilt over leaving her in a traumatized state like that. _

_She let her head drop down, and curled her hands into fists. Inhaling, she uttered a single syllable. "...Fine." _

_Levi nodded. _

_"Good. Now, hurry up, we have to get back to the wagons." _

_Without giving her as much as a second thought, he spun on his foot and strided briskly away, back to the carts, leaving her there._

* * *

Eren was beginning to stir. A small smile crossed her lips.

"...Hey." She murmured gently. Seeing him caused a small spike of pain in her chest. Especially now that she knew about his inevitable fate. However, she wasn't going to tell him. She would keep the corporal's promise. Not because she wanted to, but she didn't want to cause anymore stress for him.

However, when the day came for them to take him away, she would not go down without a fight. She would keep him alive and with him, no matter what.

Yet the thought of him leaving her terrified her. She already was beginning to notice how weaker she was becoming emotionally in only these past few hours since Levi had told her.

He slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Mi...ka...sa?" He mumbled sleepily. She smiled kindly. He was calm for a few more seconds, before he sat up quickly, realization dawning on him.

He remembered. How he let Petra and everybody else die. How he was a failure.

His breath shook and his heart pounded with fear.

"Mikasa, I... I killed them! All my friends! I was too weak... too weak to protect them! i killed them! I was the cause of their death! What... what the hell is wrong with me?! I'm a monster, I... I-"

His voice was filled with desperation. The pain in it made her heart ache painfully.

He placed his head in his hands, bent down, and let slow, achingly painful sobs escape his body. She didn't know what to do. She hated her weakness and incapability to help and comfort him. No word or phrase seemed right to say in that moment, so Mikasa resorted to something different.

What she did was not only for him, it was also for herself. To remind herself that he was still here for now. That he wasn't going to leave just yet. That she was going to protect him, like she always has.

She wrapped her arms around him, not caring about everyone else there watching them. She let him cry into her. And through this, she built the courage and confidence needed to try and take anything down that would stand in between their way.

They stayed that way until they reached home. Eren didn't say another word afterward, just remained in her arms in silence.

She would protect him, no matter what. The damned military police couldn't stand a chance against her, against _them. _

* * *

Levi, who was watching the whole thing, suddenly felt an uneasy sickness inside. Seeing them embrace like that utterly disgusted him. He didn't completely understand why, but it seriously pissed him off. Was it anger that they had the time and energy to embrace passionately like that after the failure and tragedy of how many lives were lost? Or was it just plain anger at seeing her only be happy with him, even now that she knew his fate?

Whatever it was, the simple juvenile act of hugging like that, in a time of war and grief made him want to strangle something. Didn't she know, didn't she _care_ that he was going to be gone? Leaving her?

Apparently not, since she was hugging him blindly like that, a fool in love.

He felt a bitter taste in his throat, and turned away angrily, averting his eyes.

Dammit.

* * *

Well, there you have it, Chapter 1! hehe, levi's beginning to get jealous... i think xD

writing in a guy like Levi's (and Gilgamesh as well, in my other fic) perspective is actually really fun, maybe i should write more in Levi's POV for this story...?  
I was actually going to end this chapter a lot later in, like when the MP actually come, but thanks to my annoying habit of adding stuff and little extra scenes everywhere on a whim, it looks like that won't happen for a while... Expect some fluff in the next chapter! =/3\\= /)

please please PLEASE leave a review so I can know what to work on for this story! :D

Thank you so much everybody! -MimiBlue


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